Little Hillary and Her Monsters

We all imagine ourselves as the hero. Filmmakers know that in order to draw in the largest possible audience for their movie, they must compel people to relate to the central figure in their story. More often than not, at the heart of it, is the hero. In our minds, at least, we relate to the hero, because we are like the hero. And, like the hero, we see ourselves as good, flawed maybe, but when we're pressed with our backs to the wall, we believe that we would act with the same fierce moral conviction, just like the hero. Under such circumstances, we would choose good over evil, help the poor and weak and ultimately prove our worth. Why would we so readily relate to the hero, if not for our innate sense of our own character and heroism? The only thing we lack is the opportunity. But, one day when we're on that hijacked plane that's going down in flames, we will act as the hero acts, until then, we lay in wait for our moment to come.

This, of course, assumes that evil is always transparent. That it can be seen because evil people can be spotted in their evil uniforms with their evil accents and other dead give-a-ways, the kind of which are rampant in movies, the bad ones, mostly.

Life, though, is nothing like the movies, except in the minds of those who believe that movies and reality are basically the same, with a few differences, of course. I'm sure there are plenty of Rambo's and elegant secret agents with cool gadgets like James Bond, maybe toned down a bit, but still recognizable enough. Fear in this world is for the weak and being cool is a way of life. I mean, Steve McQueen was the “King of Cool” and he was real.

Then, one day we hear on the news that four men, two soldiers, an American ambassador and an American Foreign Service officer were killed on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 in what appears to be an obvious terror attack on an American embassy. The Ambassador's dead body was dragged through the streets and photographed and filmed while people rejoiced. “How terrible,” you think. “How can people be so cruel? I tell you, if I'd been there, I'd done something about it!” And then you drink your coffee and finish your breakfast, 2 eggs, french toast and bacon, lots of bacon. “Hey, I gotta watch my weight.” You think to yourself with a laugh and a shrug.

Later that day, when work is over and the news comes on you see that president Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are on TV saying that this wasn't a terrorist attack. It was a protest, leaving you to wonder “A protest with rocket launchers and rapid fire military weapons? I've seen plenty of protests, but nothing like that”Over the next two weeks, this story is repeated again and again, with the added tidbit that the whole nightmare was because of some YouTube video that insulted the Prophet Mohamed. The news media even use the term “The Prophet Mohamed” every time they mention the video, apparently, as an act of deference to Muslims everywhere. The video-maker had the temerity to feature the image of Mohamed in his video, causing protests around the Muslim world. The protest that killed the ambassador and three others, though, was completely different. Different in the weaponry that was used—and, in the act of murdering four Americans, no less. Over the next few weeks, president Obama and Secretary of State Clinton say: “We will not tolerate those who insult the “Prophet of Islam” sounding for all the world like Islamic moderates, assuming that the two things aren't oxymorons.

Eventually, they find the man that made the video, a Coptic Christian who is summarily throw in jail for making such a slanderous product, one that incited so much murderous hatred. There are other charges, as well. No one wants to be accused of flagrantly disregarding the 1st Amendment, though, so other charges are needed to make the arrest plausible while muddying the water.

Over the next three years, much is said about this tragic event by some, little is said by others. Some willfully disregard all but the official narrative. Others keep probing, chipping away at the truth, knowing that the true story has never really been told. The message seems to be that powerful people do not live according to the same rules as others. So the truth bounces around, never staying put long enough to take root, much like a shell game run by a master manipulator, moving the tiny marble here, then there, but never where you think it is. That's all it takes, effective misdirection, crosstalk and confusion will do the rest.

The day finally arrives when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on the stand for all the world to see, answering questions with the aplomb of a very skilled equivocator. It should be obvious enough for any potential heroes out there that she has backed herself into a corner, been rendered powerless by her own words and writings, which convict her as a liar, just as president Obama is a liar. She does not budge, however, she smiles coyly, she offers skillful sleight of hand—and the media smile, too, knowing that she has masterfully slipped away. Not because she offered countervailing evidence. That was never needed. She just had to have a good excuse, good enough to sound plausible, at least, just long as nobody was listening to close. The media weren't listening, that's for certain, they heard nothing, they saw nothing, they said nothing, just like Sergeant Schultz, the Nazi guard on the old TV show “Hogans Heroes” a useless, but lovable buffoon that existed purely as comic relief. That is what the Fourth Estate, the protectors of our speech and the arbiters of freedom have become, lapdogs not watchdogs, so thoroughly, in fact, that they don't even know when they’re lying. This Leaves me with one question;Where are the heroes?Nowhere to be found, I guess.Self-delusion is a thin veil pulled over the mind in an effort to obscure the truth. Whether it is the product of evolution or design, by angels or by devils, the outcome is still the same We willingly blanket our brains with this wishful propaganda, so as to ease our transition back into reality, making our lives as comfortable as possible. That way we never have to question our heroism again. And, as long as we never see evil, we will never have to act, or know whether we actually would. But we wait, patiently anyway as the sun rises and sets and then rises again, our opportunity a mere flicker of the eyes away.